Parents! Remember to check out your student's edmodo account and to create a parent account of your own! Students gain for your via their account which provides them with an individual parent access code.
Following the sustainability unit, GPA Biology students transitioned into a study of genetics. First, we analyzed the sustainability issues faced by 3rd World Farmers (http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/) and related those issues to those the students were reading about in their ELA classes. Then, we took that information and evaluated the potential of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) such as Bt corn to help in solving some of the farmer's challenges (nutrition, crop loss, pesticides). The students used the PBS interactive website, "Harvest of Fear" (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/engineer/transgen.html) to learn how GMOs are created and then they used a variety of media sources (including: http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.gen.btcorn/bt-corn/?utm_source=teachersdomain_redirect%2Fresource%2Ftdc02.sci.life.gen.btcorn%2Futm_medium%3Dteachersdomain%2Fresource%2Ftdc02.sci.life.gen.btcorn%2Futm_campaign%3Dtd_redirects) to compile information about Bt Corn versus unmodifed corn in order to develop a stance on the debate of whether or not to grow GM argricultural products in the US.
Students are currently taking or have taken a mini quiz on their introduction section of the Genetics unit. Next we will be going back to the basics of genetics and learning about genes, inheritance and traits. Biology students are just wrapping up their very first unit of GPA Biology, the Sustainability unit. During this unit we covered the issues faced in different cultures and environments and how those issues impact the three dimensions of sustainability- society, economy and environment. We began by exploring two communities, BedZED in the UK and Darewadi in India. Next, we compared those communities with the lifestyles of the students as we examined their own ecological footprints. Students calculated their footprints on the website www.earthday.org using the "footprint calculator" and used that data to create a visual representation of their lifestyles and resource usage. Then, we focused on the human impacts on a freshwater ecosystem, Jaffrey Lake, and specifically the levels of phosphates and nitrates in the lake and what those levels correlated with. Students then took that information and, in small groups, created plans for improving the quality of the lake. They wrote formal reports and presented their ideas and reasoning back out to the class. Students extended their study of water contamination with an exploration of how antimicrobial substances from soaps and other personal care products have changed the biodiversity of microorganisms in freshwater ecosystems.
|
Ms. Thurrott and Mrs. KlimanArchivesCategories |